Steve’s Tattoo & Body Piercing

I went to see Jess (ica) for a basic nose piercing after reading all the rave reviews about her. And I am so glad I did because she was very thorough, clean, professional, and talked me through the entire process. She was also very friendly which helped me feel more comfortable (although I wasn’t apprehensive about the process at all) — I felt totally confident in her abilities and she even did this breathing exercise with me when the needle pierced my nostril. Everything went great! She provided a goodie bag of cleaning solutions for my new piercing. Overall, I couldn’t have asked for a better experience. Thank you, Jess (ica)!

Wow I was really treated poorly and will never go there or encourage anyone else to go there. I called to get a touch up on my tattoo. I was asked who the artist was and because I was only there once for a tattoo, I didn’t remember. He told me only the original artist can touch it up which I understood, but again I did not remember and did not have a business card, so he would not schedule me. I have never been treated this way at Steve’s and have had several piercings done there, but not anymore. Really disappointing!!!

Jess is a awesome piercer cares about what she does and she’s honest and upfront and is makes u feel comfortable! I love my lip piercing even thinking about going back to do the other corner of my mouth! Highly recommend her!

my first tattoo and Colton did an awesome job. Very impressed with his style and making sure he explained why he does things certain ways. I just had seven words put on my forearm, and he was super quick not intentionally, but because he is just very talented.
Colton was professional, funny, nice, and careful about the application process, and not rushing. I walked in with a smile, and walked out with a smile. Thanks guys… and thanks for telling me about my tag hanging out of my dress :-) Great place, good employees, and overall really happy.

I had my second earlobes and cartilage pierced by Jess about a month ago. I was all kinds of nervous for a lot of reasons; mainly, I was nervous that I would be judged for walking into a tattoo parlor and only have my earlobes pierced once, and I was super nervous about aftercare and infection. I can safely say that both of those fears were ridiculous. Jess was incredibly professional and friendly from the moment my friend and I walked through the door. In fact, everyone we met there was friendly and talkative, which immediately put me at ease. They spent about ten minutes cleaning and sterilizing the area where the piercing was happening, and the rest of the process was equally sanitary; after she cleaned my ears, she even reminded me not to touch them while I was pointing out where I wanted the piercings to be. All of my piercings were fast and pretty much painless, and she gave me incredibly detailed and helpful aftercare instructions. There was hardly any swelling, and it only lasted for the first few days; a month later, they’re healing beautifully and I couldn’t be happier! If I ever get more piercings, I’m definitely coming back here!

I’ve had two tattoos done here, but the latest one was one to tell my friends about!
I had an appointment at 11am, so it was right at opening, and I met with Alex. He was very helpful, honest, and genuinely fun to work with! He took the time to draw up the sketch for me, which I expected to take some time, and go over sizing with me. It took some time to get into the chair, but then it was really awesome! He put on some music we could sing along too, and at one point we were literally singing Taylor Swift together. That had to be the best tattooing experience I’ve had so far! He took time with the shading, and was very meticulous about it, even telling me straight up that shading in black and grey wasn’t something he was 100% comfortable on, and it took him longer and he wanted to do it right, but I’m sure glad he did! The piece turned out amazing! I’m absolutely in love with the work, it’s artwork I’ll never get tired of staring at.
Aside from Alex, the shop is filled with awesome people, a standout being Jess! She was floating around the shop, doing her work and occasionally coming over and talking with me and another person being tattooed. The chatter was wonderful distraction, especially since I could join in!
All in all, an awesome experience! Definitely going again.

Apparently they have too many customers already as they don’t bother to show up for scheduled consultations. After checking in and waiting around for 30 minutes today (while listening to the other employees talk about how ‘so and so must have had a late night last night…’) I finally just got up and left. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that I didn’t receive a call back to apologize or try to reschedule either. There are lots of players in town, and I will just take this as a sign to find someone more reliable to take my business to.

Jessica was awesome. Wasn’t about to attempt to do my septum myself like I did with the side of my nose. Would recommend her to anyone. Clean and friendly place. Was super quick. Takes a bit to line up the tongs for a septum piercing but hey I have one nostril bigger then the other. Rather it be straight then off. Next up a tattoo.

I came here for my first cartilage piercing-​I was worried about the pain and of course the infection, but it was nothing like that at all! Jes (Jessica) was extremely reassuring, even in unspoken ways. For example, when she directed me to pick up the mirror by myself because she had fresh gloves on. Sanitary to a T! She was careful to place it right, and the piercing itself took no time and almost wasn’t painful at all. I got a packet of sea salt and some antibacterial soap, some excellent explanations, my hoop and some good old peace of mind for $ 55. Worth it. I would definitely come here again to get a piercing!

I had a very simple request; I just wanted my ear lobes pierced. I had them done with I was very young, and they were crooked and quite thick due to scarring. I stopped in one day, and Jessica, the piercer, was not in that day. I returned on one of her days in, and she was very helpful and skillful. I had to wait quite awhile because the people in front of me were getting many piercings, but I bided my time by reading tattoo magazines and listening to the variety of music one of the tattoo guys was playing. Everyone I encountered at Steve’s was very professional and very friendly. I left with pierced ears, a goodie bag of soap and salt for cleaning and a great feeling about Steve’s.
By the way, since I had time for observation, I watched a young man who I think was a tattoo artist cleaning EVERYTHING. I wanted to invited him to my house because he cleaned absolutely every nook and cranny. That is definitely a quality I want to see in a tattoo/​piercing parlor. I highly recommend!

Five stars without a question. I lived in Madison for a year doing campaign work and was looking to get a half sleeve done. I asked around and everyone said Steve’s on Willy, so I walked in. I looked at everyone’s portfolios and asked to meet Paul, who is the sweetest man in the tattoo world in my opinion. I brought a comic book and had shown him a few images of Ms. Marvel that I had been considering… then he got this great idea to do a panel half sleeve. I selected some of the images and he selected some images and compiled the amazing artwork on my arm. He contributed his ideas and skills. I was charged $ 400 which is ultra cheap… it took me 4 hours and I got it all done in one sitting. We took a break only once and it was for him! I appreciated his dedication and the amazing work I now have for the rest of my life. I recommend this place to any and every one. Even if you are in Milwaukee, it is worth the drive.

I got my first and only tattoo done here in June 2011. I had a really good experience with Paul as my artist. I went in for a consultation and I showed him a picture of what I wanted. We discussed the details and I went in a week later. He talked me through the whole thing and said I did a really good job (which made me feel better about being a noob). It’s been almost a year, and I really love it. I’d definitely go back for more.

While this shop is somewhat aesthetically pleasing in that it’s clean, sterile and semi-​decorated, the artists employed there are what turned me off.
I gave this shop a few tries, as to not be biased upon a single visit. Of the 4 times I’ve been in, at least one person has been on their phone texting or playing on Facebook, which is fine during downtime but not when there’s a line of eager and paying customers. The majority of the attitudes are blunt and rude, similar to someone who seems simply burned out on the job and trying to get through the days. (Not the attitude I’d want when having permanent art applied to my body.)
Piercing is average. While the physical piercings usual turn out alright, on more than one occasion the jewelry has been overpriced by comparison to other shops (and online dealers), and once I had to pay for another piece of jewelry after being given the wrong kind. (No refund or return, I had to pay for both pieces for their mistake.)
The only real positive attribute to come out of this is that I met a few of the employees from Spikomatic. I’ve been going here now for a few years, never had a complaint and love their work.
In summary: Steve’s is an ‘ok’ shop for simplistic art, tattoos, and piercings, but I’d look elsewhere for exemplary customer service or more serious work.

Steve’s is an amazing tattoo shop. From the time I walked in for the first time, until my tattoo was done my experience was nothing but positive. To start off, I got my tattoo by Lenny, a great guy who is great at traditional tattoos. He was as excited as I was about the tattoo which was great. He paid extra special attention to his work (even when I didn’t want him to because of the pain LOL), took his time, and did a perfect job. This shop has a great friendly vibe to it, not stuck up at all. whether it be your first tattoo or your 18^th, Steve’s is a great shop with great artists to go to if you are in madison.

From my very first tattoo when I was in college and Steve’s was located in a smaller shop on Willy up until last week, I’ve gotten all of my work done at Steve’s.
Most recently, I walked in needing someone to show me their artistic creativity, as I was looking for someone to do some work around three older tattoos I had. Enter, Paul.
Paul took all of about two seconds to look at my arm and came up with an idea immediately. In the past, other artists would stare at me blankly and have no idea what they could do with my arm. Not Paul. He knew right away what he wanted to do.
I liked his confidence, and I decided he was the man for the job.
Paul free-​handed a design without the use of a stencil. I was really impressed. He was friendly, laid back, and clearly comfortable doing the work. These are the things I look for in the person who is marking me for life.
This is the happiest I’ve ever been with a tattoo. The quality is fantastic, the price was reasonable, and it looks great! I intend to go back to Paul, even though I now live in Chicago, for all of my future work. He’s fantastic!

First off, I’m quite disappointed and surprised with the low rating here on Unilocal.It’s a really neat place with very talented artists. I love Steve’s.
I’ve gotten two ear piercings (daith and tragus) and a tattoo there. I left each time feeling good about my experience and my new mod.
The piercer, Michael, is especially wonderful. He’s really nice and is very good at what he does. Even when the place is packed, he is calm and it makes the piercing experience go even smoother.
My tattoo was done by Andy. He drew up an awesome design for me and the end result was exactly what I wanted.
I should also mention that they are SUPER clean. New sterilized needles for every customer, the area is sprayed down with microbicidal spray before and after every tattoo/​piercing, disposable ink caps for tattoos, etc. Everything that EVERY studio should be doing.
Definitely check out Steve’s if you’re looking for a new mod. They know what they’re doing and are super helpful when it comes to answering any and all questions.

I’m almost embarrassed (key word here is ‘almost) to admit that the only piercings I have are one on each ear, and that I got them done at Steve’s.
My first go-​round with ear piercing had been at a Claire’s in the mall when I was 17. My words of wisdom: Don’t trust a teenager with a gun. It was awful and over the course of two years, they were infected constantly and never healed. The holes actually sunk to the bottoms of my earlobes, somehow. I let them close.
I got the new ear piercings a few years ago at Steve’s. The lady there was nice, efficient and professional. Everything was very sterile, as you might hope at a tattoo and piercing parlor. They used stainless steel hoops which lent themselves to the healing process immensely (and were cute and fashionable). I healed very quickly and didn’t get all disgusting and infecty. Plus, they gave me a bumper sticker and key chain! Woohoo, prizes!